Matt McLennan, Kevin Scott, Ken Phillips, Leslie Oldham, Jason Peters, and Richard Caners
Influences
For starters: Swans, Steeleye Span, Nick Drake, Current 93, Nick Cave, Dando Shaft, Fairport Convention, Velvet Underground, Strawbs, Erik Satie, the Hidden Cameras, Will Oldham, Leonard Cohen, Belle and Sebastian, Steve Reich, Renaissance, Einstrzende Neubauten, Fairfield Parlour, Cedell Davis, Bread Love and Dreams, 10,000 Maniacs, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, My Bloody Valentine, Donovan, Skinny Puppy, Claude Debussy, Mogwai, Max Richter, Nico, Roy Harper, John Fahey, Bert Jansch, PG Six, Merzbow, Nurse With Wound, Pentangle, Mellow Candle, Nels Cline, Gore Beyond Necropsy, John Cale, Carter Family, Amps for Christ, DJ Spooky, Mediaeval Baebes, Espers, Throbbing Gristle, Arvo Prt, John Renbourn, Young Gods, Thomas Tallis, Flipper, Fleetwood Mac, Akron/Family.
Sounds Like
Swans, Steeleye Span and Erik Satie going to a chamber concert and getting hideously drunk.
Mr. Pine, the brainchild of Matthew McLennan and Kevin Scott, was formed in 2004. Both gentlemen, having extremely varied taste in music - running the gamut from classical to punk, traditional British folk to extreme noise - desired to create something new and 'timeless'. Something involving diverse and interesting instrumentation, folkish elements, hazy mysticism, demented maypole dances, and fractured poetry. "The Gift of Wolves" was the fruit of almost two years' labour, released in Spring of 2006, and incorporated many guest players to help fully realize the music. It was played extensively on college radio nationwide as well as the CBC and was hailed a "mini masterpiece" by the Winnipeg Free Press.
In 2007, Mr. Pine was expanded to a full six-piece band, incorporating some of the friends who guested on "The Gift of Wolves". Vocalist Leslie Oldham joins Matt for vocal duties throughout, Jason Peters is added as a second (or is it third?) guitarist, bassist Ken Phillips takes over on bass, and violinist Richard Caners brings his gorgeous sounding violin to the mix.
If the first album showed the direction the assorted sonic experiments would take, the second album "Rewilding", released in October 2008, capitalized on these ideas with broader arrangements and wild changes of mood - stripped back acoustic numbers give way to expansive, quasi-orchestral post-rock; folk meets rock meets classical meets indie in a way you've never quite heard before.
The first Sproatly Smith album (RW 76) was released yesterday. The Yew And The Hare can be purchased for £5.00 from REVERBWORSHIP.COM Limited edition of only 50 I hope you enjoy xx
Best wishes from Fruits de Mer Records, a small but almost perfectly-formed new psych/folk/prog label.
Check out our site for old and new videos, all the latest news on our first single (Small Faces' Ogden's Nut Gone Flake meets Van der Graaf Generator's Theme One - both by the brilliant Schizo Fun Addict - a very limited coloured vinyl pressing, just 300 copies worldwide), along with a few random live reviews, very old jokes and all manner of stuff - PLUS early news on our next project, with Mellow Candle's Alison O'Donnell, featuring a cover of a classic Nick Drake track!
Hope you and your friends enjoy the site and what we're doing, do let us know!
Just posted - Record Collector magazine's review of our first single (and - thank you, god - they love it)
So, I was driving past Roca Jack's this evening. When I saw someone playing the recorder, which is always neat. And then I see Kevin. I wish I had known sooner that you were playing in my hood.
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